In Brief: Torrance Memorial, Miller Children\'s Hospital Forms Alliance; Kaiser Hospital Grants Nearly $900K
Torrance Memorial, Miller Children’s Hospital Form Alliance
Torrance Memorial Medical Center has joined forced with Miller Children's Hospital in Long Beach to provide more pediatric services to the South Bay region of Los Angeles County.
As part of the alliance, pediatric specialty care physicians from Miller Children's specialty group are providing inpatient consultations for pediatric inpatients in the Torrance Memorial pediatric unit. The specialty services they provide include pediatric orthopedics, general surgery, pulmonary, gastroenterology, and infectious disease.
"We look forward to combining the resources of our two outstanding facilities to offer South Bay families specialized pediatric care close to home," said Craig Leach, Torrance Memorial's chief executive officer. "The physicians at Miller Children's are highly skilled in their sub-specialties and care for some of the most complex pediatric cases. It is a tremendous benefit to our community to be able to offer this breadth of expertise within our hospital.”
Financial terms of the alliance were not disclosed.
Kaiser Hospital Makes Nearly $900,000 In Grants
Kaiser Permanente's hospital in Woodland Hills has granted $889,000 to a 18 community groups in the San Fernando Valley and nearby Ventura County.
Among the recipients was the Ventura chapter of Caregivers: Volunteers Assisting the Elderly, which will use its $60,000 grant to expand free services to the frail elderly; Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission, which will use its $60,000 grant to create school-based parent advocacy councils; and Safe Passage, which will use a nearly $25,000 grant to create a peer-to-peer counseling program for victims of domestic violence.
“We understand that good health extends beyond the doctor’s office and the hospital,” said Michael Carter, executive director of Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills. “That’s why we use our Community Benefit Grants Program to support nonprofit agencies that offer direct health care services or address public policy aimed at improving community health.”
Narrowing Of Part D Doughnut Hole Has Saved Californians $952 Million
The Affordable Care Act's gradual closure of Medicare Part D's “doughnut hole” – the lapse in prescription drug coverage where seniors have to pay for their own drugs – saved Californians approximately $952 million over the past four years.
The savings was by far the biggest of any state, outpacing even Medicare haven Florida, which saved $756.6 million.
The report, by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, concluded that the rebates and other discounts that have been offered as the doughnut hole was gradually closed – closure will be complete by 2020 – have saved seniors $11.5 billion to date.
